Agenda item

Welsh Government (WG) Programmes Summer of Fun and Winter of Well-being

Decision:

(a)     That the Joint Committee is reassured that children and young people in Flintshire have benefitted from Welsh Government funding through the Winter of Wellbeing Programme;

 

(b)     That the Joint Committee is satisfied with the arrangements for the Summer of Fun programme for 2022; and

 

(c)     That the feedback from the national evaluation of the Welsh Government programmes which provided evidence of their positive impact on children and young people be acknowledged

 

Minutes:

            In presenting the report the Chief Officer (Education & Youth) provided a detailed overview of the successful “summer of fun” and the “winter of wellbeing” programmes confirming that updates had been presented to the Education Youth & Culture Overview & Scrutiny Committee in December 2021.  The national evaluation report demonstrated how important this was to young people and Welsh Government (WG) had agreed to provide further funding through the winter and for this year’s programme.   

 

            The Chief Officer provided an overview of the key objectives and activities provided and outlined the collaborative work undertaken with partners (Aura libraries and leisure, young carers, NEWCIS, Menter Iaith Flint a Wrecsam and Theatr Clwyd) and the teams who supported this.  Information on how the funding of £276,000 would be distributed to enable targeted support for vulnerable families was given and she explained how these would be promoted to families.  This had been delivered in conjunction with existing schemes that the Council already provided with Town & Community Councils.

 

            In response to questions from the Chair on provision of food, accessibility and registration, the Chief Officer (Education & Youth) confirmed food would be provided at the summer of fun events, but not at the Council’s playschemes as WG had enabled direct payments to be made to families entitled to free school meals during the school holidays.  However, WG had agreed for some food and snacks to be provided at the playschemes.  Referring to the accessibility question, the Chief Officer advised that the activities were spread geographically across the authority with the aim to enable as many families as possible to attend within local communities.

 

            In response to a question from Councillor Andrew Parkhurst on provision in rural areas, the Chief Officer (Education & Youth) confirmed this would be provided across the county and agreed to circulate information on this following the meeting.  She confirmed that vulnerable children were specifically being targeted with the support of the Youth Justice and Children Services teams.  Information on the provision of buddies to enable children to access Playschemes in their area was also given.

 

            In response to a question from Councillor Andy Hughes on promotion of these events, the Chief Officer (Education & Youth) confirmed that social media, the family information service, and every other means possible was being used to promote this.  She asked Members if they could assist in getting the message across that would be helpful.  The Chair added that it was on her Community Council website and circulated via local schools in their newsletters.

 

            In response to a question from Councillor Gladys Healey concerning the playscheme in Hope, the Chief Officer (Education & Youth) confirmed that Town and Community Councils were approached earlier in the year to collaborate to support the summer playschemes and she agreed to speak to Councillor Healey outside of the meeting.  The Summer of Fun would not have been shared as it was run by the County Council.

 

            Councillor Andrew Parkhurst wanted to ensure that the Town and Community Councils were aware of the Summer of Fun programme and that all families living in rural communities were able to access the Summer of Fun programme.  The Chief Officer (Education & Youth) said the Playscheme information had been sent but not the Summer of Fun as it was run by the Council but agreed to feed this back to the strategic planning meetings.

 

            Councillor Teresa Carberry thanked all the offices and partners groups involved.  The Chief Officer (Education & Youth) agreed to feedback the committees’ thanks to the team.

 

            The recommendations, outlined within the report, were moved and seconded by Councillor Dave Mackie and Mrs Lynn Bartlett.

 

RESOLVED:

 

(a)     That the Joint Committee is reassured that children and young people in Flintshire have benefitted from Welsh Government funding through the Winter of Wellbeing Programme;

 

(b)     That the Joint Committee is satisfied with the arrangements for the Summer of Fun programme for 2022; and

 

(c)     That the feedback from the national evaluation of the Welsh Government programmes which provided evidence of their positive impact on children and young people be acknowledged

 

Supporting documents: